To beat the shortages of vegetables and fruits during shutdowns, grow them yourself, the Srinagar Municipal Corporation has told residents.
In a notification on Saturday, the civic body advised people to grow vegetables and fruits in open spaces around their homes to address the shortages during “emergency situations” such as the current lockdown.
It said that all future applications for buildings in the city would have to include a plan for vegetable farming.
Residents of densely populated Srinagar city often find it difficult to procure vegetables, fruits and other essentials because of curfews and prolonged strikes.
They face the same problem when snowfall or a landslide closes the Srinagar-Jammu highway, the only all-weather road linking the Valley to the rest of the country.
“To address the issue, it shall be mandatory for all citizens/ families (in Srinagar) that possess detached/ semi-detached plots (to) use the open areas around the house/ building for kitchen garden and plantation of fruit trees as it is right time for vegetable farming and planting trees,” the notice from the joint municipal commissioner (planning), Ghulam Hassan Mir, said.
It added: “Those intending to apply for residential building permission in Srinagar within the municipal limits shall promote vegetable farming at individual household level and shall submit the proposal accordingly.”
The notice advised the architects and engineers who prepare municipal plans, maps or drawings on behalf of the applicants to compulsorily indicate a vegetable garden and fruit orchard as part of their proposals.
It said that while all goods of daily use cannot be produced at home, growing kitchen gardens and planting fruit trees can reduce the unnecessary movement of people during a pandemic or any other situation that require them to stay home.
The Jammu and Kashmir agriculture department has been promoting kitchen gardens for many years by providing high-quality seeds and saplings.
It also provides tool kits for kitchen gardens at subsidised rates.
